Lost Minds

The US has become very "red" and "blue" in the last five years. The belief that either you are a tax money spending liberal or a tree killing conservative has seemed to back everyone into a corner. Most media outlets would have you believe it is due to the Bush administration. The "recklessness abandon" by which they govern the country is said to have created a polarized country. I would offer a different view. The problems in this country generally start and end with the media. I believe the media is a step behind and a day too slow. Most media organizations operate in a coded idea of what makes a Democrat and a Republican. Never deviate. Never use common sense. We all have beliefs that make up our character and dictate how we move through our everyday lives. Those beliefs generally align you with one of the major political parties. However, not everytime. For example, you can be a Republican and believe in environmental issues and you can be a Democrat and believe in reserved fiscal spending. This is a concept the media just can't handle.

The media is unable to cut and paste different ideas from each party and place them alongside the ideals of a competing party. They fan the flames of the ideological differences to keep the public buying more papers and watching more ads. And far too often the media gives you half the story. So, I propose a change in the way politics is viewed in this country. Don't let the sound and images on TV or the words and print in the newspapers do your thinking for you.

If you don't believe the war in Iraq is the right war at the right time, know why you feel that way. If you do believe the war in Iraq is the right war, have the facts or the individual knowledge to back it up. Was Wategate a scandal? Why? Did Nixon authorize it or just cover it up? Does the quote "I am not a criminal" attributed to Nixon apply to Watergate or another issue during his presidency? What was the Iran/Contra scandal? Was Oliver North a criminal or Hero? Was Vietnam a fight worth fighting? Did we leave too soon? Did you get both sides of the argument in high school? Is having sex with an intern a crime if you lie about it in a court of law?

We all know the sound bites. The reasons we stop flipping through the channels to stay on Fox News, CNN or NBC a little longer to hear the rest of story. The problem is that the sound bites are becoming the news. Everyone is taking the cliff notes version of the story, as told to you by someone you do not know or know their agenda, as the truth. Just because Dan Rather or Katie Couric decides to run a story doesn't make it true, relevant or even important.

Certainly a little, tiny blog on the internet isn't going to change the world. However, it will be my outlet to scream about the things I witness in the world. If I get political I will attempt to back up my position with facts or I will simply list it as an opinion. Your job is to make sure I am right before believing me.

I created this blog as a forum for my thoughts. I will not post only political rants or I would go crazy. Besides the last thing I want to become is that old man that complains about everything in the world...my friends probably already think I am headed down that path. There will be album reviews, funny ironies found throughout the world, video game reviews, movie reviews and general thoughts that pop into my head. Your comments are welcomed as well as your views. It is the discourse of ideas and opinions that truly accomplish things, not the hollow droning of network TV or Gannett publishing.